Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 45: The Japs' Attack Core
Chen Chengxing felt sorry for the Japanese troops who gradually disappeared from his sight, but he couldn't stop them from retreating.

In the end, Chen Chengxing had no choice but to lead the team back to Hongni Bay.

As the Japanese retreated to Luyang, the system's voice also rang out.

【The battle is over.】

【Obtained 233 honor points. 】

[Side quest: The first anti-raid. Completed! ]

【Rewards are waiting to be claimed! 】

[Rewards are being distributed]

[Shooting skill +1 level]

[Shooting: LV4 (slightly accomplished)]

Looking at the upgraded shooting, Chen Chengxing felt a little regretful. It would have been much better if it could be added to the command.

At the headquarters, the deputy chief of staff took the telegram handed over by the operations staff, looked at it and said, "Boss, the 386th Brigade sent a telegram, the devils in Dayun Mountain have withdrawn."

"Retreat? So quickly?" The deputy commander-in-chief seemed a little confused.

Now other Japanese troops are still attacking.

Except for the numbered regiment, the basic regiment can only fight against a squadron of Japanese devils, and the fight is quite difficult.

"This is a battle report." The Deputy Chief of General Staff handed over the telegram in his hand.

The deputy commander took it casually.

"Sparrow warfare? I remember that there was also a company in the 771st Regiment that did this?" said the deputy commander-in-chief.

"That's right. There is a company in the 771st Regiment that is divided into groups of three to five people. They harass and attack the enemy on a mountain road that is more than ten miles long. They kill and wound dozens of Japanese soldiers in one day." The Deputy Chief of General Staff nodded.

"It seems that this sparrow war cannot be underestimated." said the deputy commander-in-chief.

Sparrow warfare can be used alone to harass and attack the enemy, or it can be combined with other guerrilla warfare methods to achieve greater results, as done by the New Second Regiment.

"Sparrow warfare should be promoted." The deputy commander thought for a moment and said, "Especially the guerrillas and militias that are being formed."

You have to know that the weapons and equipment of the guerrillas and militia were very poor, let alone machine guns. An old barrel gun was considered a good gun. Some people still used single-shot rifles, homemade guns, or even spears.

In this case, you can use sparrow warfare to carry out harassment attacks, fire one shot and run away, then come back and fire another shot after reloading.

"Okay, I'll send a message to each brigade and ask them to organize study." The Deputy Chief of General Staff nodded.

That's why he handed the telegram to the deputy commander-in-chief.

The sparrow warfare can effectively strike against the Japanese and reduce casualties at the same time.

Just as the deputy commander-in-chief and the deputy chief of general staff were discussing the Sparrow War, Chen Chengxing also convened a post-war summary meeting in Hongni Bay.

"The results of the battle have been counted. The intact weapons seized this time include 6 light machine guns, 98 Type 18 rifles, 15812 Nambu pistols, 405 rifle bullets, 232 pistol bullets, 5 grenades, 98 grenade launchers, and special grenades."

"We have also transported the rest of the damaged weapons back to the repair shop, and we should be able to repair some of them by then." Luo Yongan, who was in charge of logistics, first talked about the seizures. The Japanese would destroy the weapons in their hands when they were doomed to fail. The reason why we were able to seize so many this time was because the two sides fought hand-to-hand and the Japanese had no chance.

After Luo Yongan sat down, Chen Chengxing said, "I believe everyone has realized the combat effectiveness of the Japanese this time. We have a 10:1 troop ratio, but only a 1:1 casualty ratio."

After hearing Chen Chengxing's words, the faces of the people who were smiling because of the spoils immediately became solemn.

The Japanese had strong firepower, accurate shooting, sufficient ammunition, and were well-trained. They basically shot wherever they pointed. Many of the soldiers killed in the New Second Regiment were shot in the head.

"What weapon do you think poses the greatest threat to us?" Chen Chengxing asked.

Everyone looked at each other. To them, all types of Japanese soldiers posed a great threat.

Seeing that everyone had nothing to say, Chen Chengxing didn't wait. They were commanders on the front line and might not be able to take full control of the battlefield.

"The Japanese troops are actually quite strange. Judging from their tactical actions, it is clear that the Japanese squads are centered around light machine guns. This is basically the same as what I know about those Western countries. However, the Japanese Type 99 light machine guns are unable to take on this core mission."

Those who know about the Japanese Type 99 light machine gun know that it is very different from the Czech light machine gun.

Not only is it difficult to maintain and prone to malfunctions, but it is also very troublesome to change bullets, and it relies heavily on the assistant gunner to load the bullets. But even so, the bullet changing speed of the Type 99 rifle is extremely slow, unlike the Czech type which can be changed by just pulling and plugging.

This situation resulted in a significant reduction in the firepower sustainability of the Type 99 light machine gun. During the time it took to reload, the Eighth Route Army had already rushed to the enemy's face.

"Although the Japs are nominally centered around light machine guns, from my observation, the actual core of their team is the grenade launcher," Chen Chengxing said seriously.

The strictly trained Japanese grenade throwers could basically hit whatever they pointed at at a distance of 300 meters. Even at a distance of 400 meters, the hit rate was definitely not low.

During the Battle of Shanghai, 19 of the 36th Army's 32 heavy machine guns were destroyed by the Japanese grenadiers in just one round of firing.

Once the defensive position lost its machine gun firepower point, the Japanese would immediately suppress it with heavy machine guns and then charge with infantry.

This situation also happened when they ambushed the Japanese squadron. The two squads responsible for attacking the high ground on the northeast side were carrying two grenade launchers. With just one salvo, the light machine guns deployed on the high ground by the first battalion were extinguished.

If it weren't for the heavy machine guns placed on high ground by Chen Chengxing to provide support, the Japanese would probably have already rushed to the high ground, and the casualties of the New Second Regiment would have increased several times.

After listening to Chen Chengxing's analysis, the company commanders of each battalion thought about it carefully and found that it was indeed the case.

When the Japanese infantry leap forward, the grenade launchers will attack the firepower points at the same time.

Compared with the role of the grenade launcher, although the Japanese light machine gun also provided fire suppression, its effect was obviously smaller than that of the grenade launcher.

"You know what? One of our battalion's light machine guns was destroyed by a shell because of its slow movement speed. Although the gun is still usable, it is not very effective for infantry to use light machine guns."

"It's not just machine guns. Our regiment also captured grenade launchers before. However, our level of using grenade launchers is far behind the Japanese, and we can't form an effective confrontation at all."

Listening to the discussion below, Chen Chengxing knocked on the table and said, "Since we can find the problem, we have to solve it."

"In future battles with the devils, light and heavy machine guns must be frequently transferred to reduce the risk of being destroyed."

It is easy to move a light machine gun, you can just pick it up and carry it, but a heavy machine gun weighs fifty or sixty kilograms, so it is not easy to move it frequently.

But there is no other way. It is better to have trouble than to be knocked down.

Of course, this is only an emergency measure. If we really want to fight against the Japanese grenade launchers, we have to use indirect fire with a longer range, but the New Second Regiment does not have this condition now.

(End of this chapter)